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Baja to probe threats against journalists

Prosecutor named for Mexican state
By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 26, 2005

TIJUANA – In response to recent killings of Mexican journalists, local federal authorities have designated a prosecutor who will investigate acts of aggression and threats against the media in Baja California.

Miguel Angel Meneses Maciel, who has worked more than 10 years with the Mexican Attorney General's Office, said yesterday that he would be attentive to the needs of journalists, looking into "whatever kind of threat or intimidation that inhibits their work."

These would include, he said, threats from criminal groups or government officials and police, whether they are with federal, state or local agencies. Meneses spoke at a news conference that the Mexican Attorney General's Office held to introduce him to the media.

President Vicente Fox announced in May that special prosecutors would be named for each state to investigate crimes against journalists. Since 2004, six journalists have been killed in Mexico, including Tijuana editor Francisco Ortiz Franco, according to the Austria-based International Press Institute.

Carlos Lauria, Americas program coordinator with the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, called Fox's decision "a step forward."

"It's not that naming a federal prosecutor for each state will solve the problem . . . but it will give an alternative to what is going on now," he said.

Lauria said threats and aggression against journalists have typically been dealt with by state police, who initiate most investigations.

Federal authorities usually didn't get involved unless a case was determined to have a link to drug trafficking, or if public pressure forced them to address it, Lauria said.

However, Lauria said, corruption in state agencies has prevented some of investigations from moving forward, so "it's essential to have some kind of federal involvement in these cases."

Antonio Mendoza Chávez, who oversees the federal Attorney General's Office in Tijuana, said it's too early to say how many cases they will manage. Araceli DomÃÂ*nguez, president of the Association of Journalists in Tijuana, said she will present to Meneses four recent cases of intimidation and aggression.

She said the special prosector's office may work in reporting certain kinds of crimes, such as threats. She said she's not sure how effective it can be in more serious cases such as the killing of Tijuana journalist Ortiz last year.

"We don't want things to arrive at that point," she said. "We want it to be prevented from ever happening."